China steps up effort to diversify FX reserves

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has set up a new unit to help diversify its $3.31 trillion holdings of official reserves, the country's currency regulator said on Monday.The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said the SAFE Co-Financing office had been created to explore new investment options that preserve and increase the value of the world's largest currency reserve stockpile."In recent...

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U.S. economy to grow 2.5 percent this year: Fed's Evans

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2013, improving to 3.5 percent growth in 2014, top Fed official Charles Evans said on Monday.Evans also forecast the U.S. unemployment rate would be 7.4 percent this year, easing to about 7 percent in 2014."One good indicator of labor market improvement would be if we saw payroll employment increase by 200,000 each month...

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Chicago-area RTA: United running 'sham' business

CHICAGO (AP) — A transportation agency plans to file a lawsuit Monday alleging that United Airlines is falsely claiming to buy huge amounts of jet fuel out of a small, rural Illinois office that doesn't even have a computer to avoid paying tens of millions of dollars in taxes in Chicago, where the purchases are allegedly being made.The Regional Transportation Authority alleges United Aviation Fuels...

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Sweden scraps rule, paves way for more north Americans

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The Swedish Ice Hockey Association has cleared the deck for more players from north America in its clubs by deciding to scrap a rule that limits teams to two non-EU players."There has been a desire from clubs to avoid having to limit themselves only to the European market," association chairman Christer Englund told Aftonbladet newspaper."Instead of forcing clubs to limit themselves,...

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Mediators unable to breathe life into stalled labor talks

NHL and the NHL Players Association regarding the difficulties of their current labor …more (Reuters) - National Hockey League (NHL) owners and players appear no closer to ending a lockout that could wipe out an entire season after working with U.S. federal mediators for a second consecutive day on Thursday.The mediators and NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) Executive Director Donald Fehr were back...

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Labor dispute moves into courts with talks stalled

(Reuters) - After three months of failed negotiations, the labor dispute between the National Hockey League and locked out players moved into the courts on Friday, with the league filing a class action complaint against the players' union.The league asked U.S. courts to confirm the legality of the lockout. It also filed an unfair labor practice against the players' union.The move appears to be a...

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Local Leaks Tipsters Allege Steubenville Victim Was Drugged

The latest information posted to Local Leaks, the Wikileaks-like site that has devoted itself to finding details about Steubenville's so-called "Rape Crew", is what they say is an account from the night of the alleged gang-rape of a 16-year-old girl. Local Leaks, which uses and utilizes hacks and tipsters driven to the site from the hacktivist group known as Anonymous, posted what they say is a basic...

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Android’s explosive content consumption growth threatens Apple

Smartphone market share surveys from IDC and Kantar have shown for a long time that the Android phone volume surge is leaving the iPhone in the dust in major growth markets from Brazil to India. But one thing that Apple has had on its side has been the propensity of iPhone owners to consume far more content than Android phone owners. One argument has been that it does not matter if iPhone has a 5%...

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Look Who's Already in Trouble Over the Steubenville Rape Case

If this was the week that the whole country found out about the alleged gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in football-crazedSteubenville, Ohio, next week might be the one when the punishments arrive. Steubenville High's famed football coach may resign as soon as Monday, and the recent graduate whose shocking video confession was leaked by hackers who took the case nationalmay be...

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Egypt's ultraconservative party names new leader

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's largest ultraconservative Islamist party, which has emerged as a potent political force in the country, elected a new leader on Wednesday after the previous head broke away to form his own political group following months of infighting.Younis Makhyoun, a 58-year-old cleric and trained dentist, was selected in a consensus vote to lead the Salafi Al-Nour party, one of several religion-based...

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Saudi executes maid despite appeals for reprieve

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi authorities say a Sri Lankan domestic worker has been executed for killing a Saudi baby in her care in 2005.The case spurred global appeals to call off the beheading of Rizana Nafeek because she was 17 at the time of the killing. Rights groups called the death sentence a violation of international codes governing the rights of minors. She had denied strangling the...

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Winter storm slams Mideast, 2 die in West Bank

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The fiercest winter storm to hit the Mideast in years has unleashed deadly flash flooding in the West Bank, dumped a rare foot of snow on desert Jordan, and disrupted traffic on the Suez Canal in Egypt.The unusual weather was a particularly harsh blow for the vulnerable Syrian refugees, especially about 50,000 sheltering in the Zaatari tent camp in Jordan's northern desert. Torrential...

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Soccer-Sporting and Porto agree swap of Izmailov for Miguel Lopes

LISBON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Portuguese Premier League club Sporting agreed to swap Russian midfielder Marat Izmailov for Porto's Portugal international Miguel Lopes, the Lisbon club said in a statement on Tuesday. "Sporting informs that Marat Izmailov was transferred to Porto and that Miguel Lopes was signed with a contract that runs until June 2018 and has a buyout clause of 20 million euros ($26.13...

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Soccer-Lazio ease into Italian Cup semis

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Lazio beat Catania 3-0 on Tuesday to waltz into the Italian Cup semi-finals and keep their so far successful season on track for silverware.The Rome club, riding high in second in Serie A, never looked in difficulty once Romanian defender Stefan Radu headed in a corner on the half hour.Brazilian midfielder Hernanes converted Sergio Floccari's assist midway through the second half...

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UPDATE 1-Soccer-Spanish King's Cup last 16 results

Jan 8 (Infostrada Sports) - Results from the Spanish King's Cup Last 16 second leg matches on TuesdayLast 16Tuesday, January 8, second legValencia - Osasuna 2-1 (halftime: 1-1)First leg: Osasuna - Valencia 0-2. Valencia win 4-1 on aggregate.Malaga - Eibar (III) 4-1 (halftime: 0-1)First leg: Eibar - Malaga 1-1. Malaga win 5-2 on aggregate.Next Fixtures (GMT):Wednesday, January 9Sevilla v Real Mallorca...

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More than 400 Million Devices Are Connected in U.S. Homes, According to The NPD Group

There are 425 million devices connected to the Internet in U.S. homes, according to a new Connected Intelligence report from global information company, The NPD Group.Port Washington, New York (PRWEB) January 02, 2013There are 425 million devices connected to the Internet in U.S. homes, according to a new Connected Intelligence report from global information company, The NPD Group. The Connected...

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NewsWatch Features Creatoverse, a Sandbox App that Fosters Your Creativity, on AppWatch

NewsWatch, a nationwide television show, recently aired a news segment about “Creatorverse”, a new tablet app by Linden Lab. The segment aired as part of “AppWatch”, a weekly review of the top apps in the marketplace.Washington, DC (PRWEB) January 02, 2013NewsWatch, a nationwide television show, recently aired a news segment about “Creatorverse”, a new iPad app by Linden Lab. The segment aired as...

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Adapting To An Evolving U.S. Economy: Charitable Giving And “The Fiscal Cliff”

Avrum D. Lapin to join the founder of EJewishPhilanthropy.com to host a seminar for nonprofit leaders that fundraise in the United States and IsraelJerusalem, Israel (PRWEB) January 02, 2013Avrum D. Lapin, Director and Senior Partner of the Philadelphia fundraising firm The EHL Consulting Group, will join Dan Brown, the founder of popular philanthropy blog EJewishPhilanthropy.com, to host a seminar...

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Native protest disrupts Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal rail service

TORONTO (Reuters) - Aboriginal demonstrators disrupted passenger rail service on routes connecting Toronto with Ottawa and Montreal on Saturday, a day after Canada's prime minister agreed to meet with First Nations leaders to discuss grievances behind a growing native protest movement.About 1,000 people traveling on four trains were stranded on VIA Rail routes in eastern Ontario when the railway stopped...

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Navy supply ships set to join F-35 as political lightning rod in 2013

OTTAWA - The navy's long-delayed, much-studied joint support ship program is expected to come under the political microscope within weeks in what is likely another defence equipment embarrassment for the Harper government.The parliamentary budget officer has been examining the program and is poised to release his findings soon after MPs return from their Christmas break later this month.Kevin Page's...

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'Gangster Squad' actor Josh Brolin arrested for public intoxication in Calif on New Year's Day

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Actor Josh Brolin spent some of New Year's Day and the following morning in a Southern California jail cell after getting arrested for misdemeanour public intoxication.Santa Monica Police Lt. Darrell Lowe says the actor was not given a citation for the Tuesday arrest, which means he likely won't have to appear in court.Lowe says Brolin was arrested just before midnight January...

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Report: Lance Armstrong weighs doping admission

The New York Times reported Friday that Lance Armstrong, who has strongly denied the doping charges that led to him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, has told associates he is considering admitting to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.The report cited anonymous sources and said Armstrong was considering a confession to help restore his athletic career in triathlons and running...

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Friday's Sports In Brief

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Alabama coach Nick Saban sent home two backup players from the BCS championship game for violating curfew.A person with knowledge of the decision said the players were freshman linebackers Dillon Lee and Ryan Anderson. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school didn't release names.A statement from Saban announced the disciplinary action. Alabama's...

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Report says Armstrong may confess to doping

Lance Armstrong is reportedly considering a change in course, dropping his years of denials and admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs.The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported late Friday that Armstrong has told associates he is thinking about the move.However, Armstrong attorney Tim Herman says that the cyclist hasn't reached out to USADA chief executive Travis Tygart and...

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Netflix suffers Christmas Eve outage, points to Amazon

 An outage at one of Amazon's web service centers hit users of Netflix Inc.'s streaming video service on Christmas Eve and was not fully resolved until Christmas day, a spokesman for the movie rental company said on Tuesday.The outage impacted Netflix subscribers across Canada, Latin America and the United States, and affected various devices that enable users to stream movies and television...

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Netflix blames Amazon for Christmas Eve outage

An outage at one of Amazon's web service centers hit users of Netflix Inc's streaming video service on Christmas Eve and was not fully resolved until Christmas Day, a spokesman for the movie rental company said on Tuesday.The outage impacted Netflix subscribers across Canada, Latin America and the United States, and affected various devices that enable users to stream movies and television shows from...

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Number of e-book readers increasing in United States: survey

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The popularity of electronic books is increasing in the United States, with nearly one-quarter of American bibliophiles reading e-books, according to a survey released on Thursday.The number of e-readers aged 16 years and older jumped from 16 percent in 2011 to 23 percent this year, while print readers fell from 72 to 67 percent in 2012, in a survey conducted by the Pew Research...

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China tightens Internet controls, legalizes post deletion

 China unveiled tighter Internet controls on Friday, legalizing the deletion of posts or pages which are deemed to contain "illegal" information and requiring service providers to hand over such information to the authorities for punishment.The rules signal that the new leadership headed by Communist Party chief Xi Jinping will continue muzzling the often scathing, raucous online chatter in a...

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Hunger strike pressures Canada PM, aboriginal protests spread

A Canadian aboriginal chief in the third week of a hunger strike is urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to "open his heart" and meet with native leaders angered by his policies as small impromptu protests spread beyond Canada's borders.Chief Theresa Spence from the remote northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat has been fasting since December 11 and has vowed to continue until Harper commits to...

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Retailer John Lewis posts record Christmas sales

 John Lewis said on Wednesday it had posted a 14.8 percent rise in sales in the run-up to Christmas and the first days of its clearance, helped by demand for technology and a leap in online offerings.Britain's biggest department stores group reported sales of 684.8 million pounds for the five weeks to December 29, including a record take of 31.7 million pounds for the first day of its sales in...

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UK norovirus sickness cases reach over 1.1 million

 More than 1.1 million people in Britain have succumbed to the norovirus winter vomiting disease so far this season, and health officials expect cases to jump higher after a Christmas and New Year dip.Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) said cases of highly contagious norovirus have risen earlier than expected this winter - a trend that has also been seen across Europe, Japan and other parts...

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Governor announces lawsuit vs NCAA over Penn State scandal

 Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett said on Wednesday he will ask a federal court to throw out the multimillion-dollar sanctions levied by the NCAA against Penn State University over the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse scandal, saying the punishment threatens to cause devastating damage to the state's residents and economy.The sanctions, which included an unprecedented $60 million fine, are "overreaching...

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Catholic Church closes London's gay-friendly "Soho Masses"

 The Catholic Church will stop gay-friendly Masses in the central London church that has held them for the past six years, London's archbishop said on Wednesday.The 18th-century church in Soho, the heart of London's gay scene, has been hosting the twice-monthly Masses with the support of the local Church hierarchy, but Archbishop Vincent Nichols said in a statement that gay Catholics should attend...

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Malala's father given diplomatic role in UK

The father of a teenage Pakistani activist shot in the head by Taliban for advocating girls' education has been given a diplomatic post in the U.K.Malala Yousufzai has been recovering at a hospital in Birmingham, England, after she was shot in October in Pakistan. The Taliban have vowed to target her again.Pakistan's High Commissioner to Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, confirmed a BBC report Wednesday...

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Mobile Device Accessory Manufacturer New Trent Announces CES Products and Distribution

Established supplier of mobile power accessories, hard-shell cases and tablet keyboards to meet marketplace demand through new distribution alliances.Fremont, CA (PRWEB) December 31, 2012New Trent, a trusted manufacturer of battery technology for leading electronics products, has announced its presence at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas in it's plan for expansion of its mobile accessory...

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Start the New Year With a Clear Mind and Body by Eliminating Clutter From the Home

And Make Some Extra Money Selling Those Unwanted Things on eBid.netMiami, FL (PRWEB) December 31, 2012The positive physical and psychological effects of clearing clutter from your life have been well-documented. Benefits include creating a focused mind, finding extra time in the day to exercise, reducing accidents - and earning some extra cash selling unnecessary clutter online. One of the best options...

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ListedBy’s Stephan Piscano Perspective Featured In REI Voice Magazine’s 2013 Market Predictions

Feature projects outlook from ten prominent U.S. city, state and national real estate industry leaders and city executives.Napa, CA (PRWEB) December 31, 2012ListedBy (http://www.ListedBy.com), the first free online real estate marketplace and social network with live bidding public real estate auctions and ‘Best Offer’ functionality today announced that its CEO and Founder Stephan Piscano’s outlook...

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